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Zodiac
fights Bec Noir.]] The zodiac is a concept in astrology, where a number of signs relating to constellations have influence on the world. The concept of the zodiac, and in particular the western one, features prominently in Homestuck, most notably through the trolls, and is also connected to the cherubs. The twelve signs of the western zodiac on Earth are represented by the same symbols appearing on the shirts of the twelve trolls who created Universe B, and it would appear that due to the influence of these trolls (or at least, not coincidentally) the western zodiac's signs represent various traits of theirs. On Alternia, each member of a given caste is to be labeled with one symbol derived from an alphabet used for that caste, after their hatching. The symbol for Cancer is specifically derived from . On November 27, 2017, an "extended zodiac" of 288 signs from all combinations of sign class, lunar sway (dream moon), and aspect was revealed, representing at least part of the alphabet of signs used on Alternia. In the real world, one can determine one's extended zodiac symbol, or "true signs" by means of a canonical extended zodiac quiz, which determines your lunar sway and aspect based on a personality quiz (sign class is determined in accordance with the traditional zodiac). This in turn suggests that the extended zodiac symbols used on Alternia are either assigned in accordance with or associated with particular personality traits, and also allows for the hypothetical aspect and dream moon of a given troll to be determined. A troll's blood caste determines their sign class, and thus the specific set of signs from which this symbol is taken. The exceptions to all these rules are the few canonical trolls that do not have symbols from the extended zodiac alphabet, such as the canon fan trolls, although they may have utilized a different system as they did not originate on Alternia. It was previously mentioned that trolls have for a version of a zodiac similar to that of the human zodiac, however it is presumably independent of the extended zodiac, which is purely used for sign assignations (and only associated with the astrological zodiac concept from a human perspective). Andrew Hussie has joked that the trolls have 48 of these signs because of the 48 squiddles that created their universe. It may be worth noting however that Ptolemy in his categorization of the constellations listed 48 constellations. Naming Conventions The manner in which the names of each sign is decided follows a naming theme. The first half is dictated by the blood color, while the second half is determined by both the Lunar Sway and Aspect (within the context of the Extended Zodiac Quiz, it is unknown if these factors exist within the canon of Hiveswap). There are a total of 12 prefixes and 24 suffixes. The prefixes and suffixes are derived from fragments of the 12 signs of the classic zodiac. |width="50%"| |} Rust Signs Characters with Rust Signs include the three Aries Aradia Megido, Damara Megido, and The Handmaid, and the Ariborn Xefros Tritoh. Bronze Signs Characters with Bronze Signs include the three Taurus Tavros Nitram, Rufioh Nitram, and The Summoner, and the Taurcer Dammek. Gold Signs Characters with Gold Signs include the three Gemini Sollux Captor, Mituna Captor, and The Ψiioniic, and the Gempio Zebede Tongva. Lime Signs Characters with Lime Signs include the Cancer Karkat Vantas, along with The Signless receiving it posthumously based on the shape of his shackles. Unlike the other signs in this class, (True) Cancer is "uncolored" because it is a rare sign that "transcends the Sign Class Spectrum altogether." Notably, the title for Cancer shares its title with one of the post-scratch ancestors. Olive Signs Characters with Olive Signs include the three Leo Nepeta Leijon, Meulin Leijon, and The Disciple. Notably, the title for Leo shares its title with one of the post-scratch ancestors. Jade Signs Characters with Jade Signs include the three Virgo Kanaya Maryam, Porrim Maryam, and The Dolorosa, and the Virnius Daraya Jonjet. Interestingly, many of the Jade Signs were actually prior to the reveal of the complete official extended zodiac, making them the only non-traditional extended zodiac signs to appear in the comic proper. Teal Signs Characters with Teal Signs include the three Libra Terezi Pyrope, Latula Pyrope, and Neophyte Redglare, and the Licer Tyzias Entykk. Blue Signs Characters with Blue Signs include the three Scorpio Vriska Serket, Aranea Serket, and Marquise Spinneret Mindfang, and the Scorist Mallek Adalov. Indigo Signs Characters with Indigo Signs include the three Sagittarius Equius Zahhak, Horuss Zahhak, and The Expitri8, and the Sagicorn Nihkee Moolah. Purple Signs Characters with Purple Signs include the three Capricorn Gamzee Makara, Kurloz Makara, and The Grand Highblood, the Caprium Barzum Soleil, the Caprimini Baizli Soleil, and the Caprinius Chahut Maenad. Violet Signs Characters with Violet Signs include the three Aquarius Eridan Ampora, Cronus Ampora, and Orphaner Dualscar. Fuchsia Signs Characters with Fuchsia Signs include the three Pisces Feferi Peixes, Meenah Peixes, and The Condesce, and the Picen Trizza Tethis. Additional Signs In 1970, Stephen Schmidt suggested the addition of two more signs, Ophiuchus and Cetus, while this suggestion didn't catch on, in 1995 a 13 sign system only adding Ophiuchus to the tradition twelve was suggested by Walter Berg and Mark Yazaki. The 13-sign system has gained traction and as such when the original twelve trolls were introduced many suspected a 13th troll to exist. Eventually the character of Calliope was introduced who initially appeared to be a new troll appeared who used a Caduceus as their symbol. While not a constellation in itself, both it and Ophiuchus are connected to snakes. Later still, Calliope's brother, Caliborn, who used the symbol for Ophiuchus was introduced. The characters were later revealed to not have been trolls, but rather cherubs, a species having serpentine features, and also shared a singular body. *Ophiuchus (⛎) - The sign of Caliborn. *Cetus - No character uses this sign, however the sign is named after a mythological monster of the same name that appears in Homestuck as a denizen. Additionally, the canon fan trolls have signs based on the constellations Perseus and Neptune, which do not appear in the extended Zodiac despite appearing in-comic. Characters' extended zodiac signs (Almost) every Troll character in the Homestuck franchise originating on either Alternia or Beforus has an associated extended zodiac symbol which they were assigned by their culture at birth. The mutant-blood Vantas characters are a special case, as their blood colour is not a traditional part of the Hemospectrum. The sign associated with these characters, True Cancer, originated from the execution cuffs of The Signless, became regarded as his symbol posthumously, and was later applied to his descendant. This is odd, because even though this would imply that True Cancer is not an "official" Alternian sign, it is included in the extended zodiac as one of the Lime signs, albeit a miscoloured one. It is unknown if this grouping is an informal one made for the framing process of the extended zodiac - perhaps reflecting a long hypothesized link between the Vantases and Lime bloods, or whether it means that, prior to the elimination of the Lime caste, the sign was a recognized part of the alphabet of Lime signs on Alternia. Regardless, for the purposes of this list, both Karkat and the Signless are regarded as True Cancer, even though the latter was not assigned the sign at birth and it only became regarded as his posthumously. However, Kankri Vantas was also not assigned the sign at birth on Beforus, and furthermore he is never depicted with it, either on his clothing or person, despite having it reflected in his typing quirk. Given this, it is arguable that he was never "assigned" or even formally adopted this sign at all, in any capacity, even though his sign seemingly would be True Cancer as is the case for the other Vantases. As this list comprises only signs that trolls were canonically depicted bearing a particular sign, Kankri is therefore not included in this list, despite him being the pre-Scratch incarnation of The Signless, who is. This comprises a complete list of canonical trolls grouped by their extended zodiac symbols. Trivia * The selection of Jade Signs that show that at least part of the extended zodiac was completed as far back as in June 2015. ** In fact, an "expanded zodiac" of troll signs was teased in a Hiveswap Kickstarter update on March 26, 2015, describing around 250 signs that had been made. As this lines up fairly exactly with the eventually released extended zodiac, this probably means that the alphabet was fully realized at this point, albeit not publicly released for the next 2.5 years. * The descriptions of the 12 signs of the classic zodiac found in the extended zodiac appear to be more associated towards the Beta trolls and their ancestors, as opposed to their Alpha counterparts. ** This is especially true for the signs of Cancer, Scopio and Pisces (the Sign of the Signless, the Sign of the Conquerer and the Sign of the Cleric, respectively), as their descriptions appear to be more accurate to Karkat, Vriska and Feferi and their respective ancestors, as opposed to Kankri (who would never grow up with the legacy of the Signless/Sufferer, or even a sign as Karkat did), Aranea (who for the most part was passive and harmless, if self-absorbed right until the very end) and Meenah (who rarely used her abilities as a Life player to heal others, unlike Feferi or even the Condesce). ** This may indicate that the Extended Zodiac may only be relevant to Alternia and not Beforus. * It is worth noting that in Hiveswap's Extended Zodiac, half of the suffixes are corruptions of the latter halves of the classic zodiac. For example, the the alternate version of suffix of -mini (derived from Gemini), is -mino; and the alternative version of -cer (from Cancer) is -cen. ** One alternate suffix of note is -iborn, which is a corruption of -icorn (From Capricorn). This is especially of note since, within the context of the quiz, both -icorn and -iborn are assigned to Rage Players. Category:Homestuck concepts Category:Hiveswap concepts